Hi, Here is my new recording (that I did last week) of the Bach - WTC Bk2 - BWV 875 - Prelude and Fugue No.6 Dmin. I have a video recording as well which I will post soon. This is my first performance of a piece from the WTC Bk2.

Oh the kinship of this prelude with the keyboard and double violin conertos in the same key! Kaila, I really like the spirit and terraced dynamics of the prelude, and the tempo was (IMO) perfect! If I were to ask for a difference it would be to make the mordents more incisive.

Regarding the fugue, again I like it very much. The recording sometimes sounds too full, not allowing for clarity of the texture (maybe the volume is too high?). I would recommend you reconsider the execution of the trill on the final cadence, in that it should (IMO) begin on the auxilliary rather than the principle note. Thank you very much for the recording. (Watch out Chris! )

_________________Eddy M. del Rio, MD"A smattering will not do. They must know all the keys, major and minor, and they must literally 'know them backwards.'" - Josef Lhevinne

I very much like the overall spirit you capture in this feisty prelude. Good overall rhythmic pulse and wonderful dynamic contrasts. My only overall bone of contention would be evenness, particularly in the left hand (e.g., the descending lefthand run starting measure 5). A few places of asynchronicity in the double passages (e.g., measures 9-12) and some noticeable rushing getting near to the end (e.g., measures 37-42). A couple of details I really liked are the way you played the thirty-second figurations -- very pointed and precise. Also, a very interesting ending! Sometimes I hear a performer charge headlong into this, but I love your tapered "pull in and park" gesture here.

Good work on the fugue too. I'm hearing the voices and counterpoint quite well here: clear without being affected. I do feel that sometimes the tempo is getting the better of you just a tad: a bit of rushing in places. You could opt perhaps to take it just a hair slower. Some places, too, where I would favor a slightly neater and more precise attack, but I found this aspect much more minor than in the prelude.

First of all Kaila, you need to submit Bach P&F's in one track, as has been the rule here for some years now.

Good performances these, nothing much to nag except some minor points:

Prelude: Very nice dynamics. The mordents seem a bit inconsistent, sometimes using the adjacent note, sometimes the second note. I wonder if there's a rule for that ? Some seem a bit stiff too. A bit of unevenness in some spots where the hands don't work ideally together.

Fugue: Nice pacing and articulations. Voicing is good but could yet be a little more pronounced. As in the prelude, some uneven spots where the hands are supposed to work together. The closing trill is a bit strange.

But all in all, good quality and very enjoyable playing, at least to me.

...Kaila, you need to submit Bach P&F's in one track, as has been the rule here for some years now. Good performances these, nothing much to nag except some minor points

Chris, Here is the new mp3 file with the Prelude and Fugue on one track. Thank you for taking time to do critical listening and for your critique. Your comments on my Chopin Op.64 submission were very valuable and I plan to re-record that piece and re-submit it.

Kaila, I really like the spirit and terraced dynamics of the prelude, and the tempo was (IMO) perfect! If I were to ask for a difference it would be to make the mordents more incisive. Regarding the fugue, again I like it very much. I would recommend you reconsider the execution of the trill on the final cadence, in that it should (IMO) begin on the auxilliary rather than the principle note. Thank you very much for the recording.

The recording sometimes sounds too full, not allowing for clarity of the texture (maybe the volume is too high?).

musical-md, Thank you for reply and kind words. I will consider carefully your thoughts on the mordents and trill on the final cadence. My project manager 'Kb' agrees with your point on the recording. He writes:

...musical-md, Thank you for observation about the recording. It's always valuable to receive 'feedback' from people on how a recording sounds on their audio playback system. Listening again, I agree it is a bit overdone. I re-recorded the wav audio file and changed the 'wet/dry mix', lowering the 'reverb' (BriscastiM7 software plugin) and leaving the 'dry sound' as is. I added a *little* 'eq' (upper mid and highs) to the source track that would apply to both the wet and dry result.

The Steinway piano was recorded using a pair of Schoeps (with CMC6 preamplifier and MK-4 cardioid capsules) in 'ORTF' method and two AKG 414 (in omni pattern) as 'flanking mics.' The ORTF pair were placed about 5 feet from the piano, in center. Of course, another critical factor; a beautiful sounding room in which to record.

The ORTF approach generally yields a beautiful result (depending on some other conditions too). It's sometimes easy to get bit 'carried away' in the post recording stage. I think my changes to the final recording (with ambience) should yield a more beautiful result. regards, Kb

jlr43 wrote:

Well done overall! You seem to have a good feeling for Bach.

Joe, Thank you for thoughtful reply and taking time to do critical listening. You bring up some interesting points and I will concider them carefully. Much appreciated.

Nice work KB (Kaila, please inform). I like the sound of this considerably better. I hope I can learn to do that kind of work with my recordings. Please, just for my edification, can you explain the wet/dry mix aspect? I followed everything else.

_________________Eddy M. del Rio, MD"A smattering will not do. They must know all the keys, major and minor, and they must literally 'know them backwards.'" - Josef Lhevinne

I liked your playing of this favourite pair. Especially the fugue. Clear and daring.The prelude is nice but I think a tad slower tempo would let you shape your phrases better. And it would also relieve you from struggling to sync left and right hands. Fast is tempting but the hands must fully 'chew in' to sound comfortable. Overall, a fine job.

Nice work KB (Kaila, please inform). I like the sound of this considerably better. I hope I can learn to do that kind of work with my recordings. Please, just for my edification, can you explain the wet/dry mix aspect? I followed everything else.

Eddy, My project manager writes,

"...Thank you for your reply and comments. The 'wet/dry mix aspect' is simply a way to state the degree to which 'audio signal processing', in this case reverberation ('reverb') (or the amount of spacial ambience effect), is applied to an audio recording. The 'wet' aspect is the amount of reverb or ambience applied, the 'dry' aspect is the degree of original or source audio. Processors are available in most audio editor program and easily applied to the source recording. The 'reverb processor' should have a knob or slider labeled 'MIx' (or amount) which allows the user to control the amount of spacial effect applied. 100% ('completely wet') would mean the source audio is completely immersed in the ambient spatial effect (the 'lost in a cavern' effect). I'm usually very conservative, applying maybe just a few percentage points of wet, depending on the nature of the music and the quality of the source audio. This is a basic description of the procedure. I have my own approach to applying audio processing which is more involved, but the fundamentals are still the same..." regards, Kb

Nice work KB (Kaila, please inform). I like the sound of this considerably better. I hope I can learn to do that kind of work with my recordings. Please, just for my edification, can you explain the wet/dry mix aspect? I followed everything else.

Eddy, My project manager writes,

"...Thank you for your reply and comments. The 'wet/dry mix aspect' is simply a way to state the degree to which 'audio signal processing', in this case reverberation ('reverb') (or the amount of spacial ambience effect), is applied to an audio recording. The 'wet' aspect is the amount of reverb or ambience applied, the 'dry' aspect is the degree of original or source audio. Processors are available in most audio editor program and easily applied to the source recording. The 'reverb processor' should have a knob or slider labeled 'MIx' (or amount) which allows the user to control the amount of spacial effect applied. 100% ('completely wet') would mean the source audio is completely immersed in the ambient spatial effect (the 'lost in a cavern' effect). I'm usually very conservative, applying maybe just a few percentage points of wet, depending on the nature of the music and the quality of the source audio. This is a basic description of the procedure. I have my own approach to applying audio processing which is more involved, but the fundamentals are still the same..." regards, Kb

Thank you, I understand completely now.

_________________Eddy M. del Rio, MD"A smattering will not do. They must know all the keys, major and minor, and they must literally 'know them backwards.'" - Josef Lhevinne

Hi Kaila,first, have my congratulations to that nice video-performance on YouTube, which also has a good camera work. I suppose, you have had someone, who has filmed you. (That´s a luxus I don´t have respective I don´t want to burden my wife with that task, so there is noone to zoom in and out me.)

To the prelude:It´s overall nicely played, but there are some unexact moments in it (f.ex. bar 37 a wrong note on the third beat and bar 39 is a bit unprecise concerning coordination between LH and RH). Some of the trills and mordents could be overworked. The end is very nicely played.

To the fugue:Here is missing a good and solide voicing as it should be in Bachs fugues. The pianist can show here, if he has understood, what the main-theme the fugue exactly has and how he wants to create his interpretation of this main-subject. There are some rhythmical uneveness (f.ex. in bar 11 the bass-voice should play always dotted eight plus sixteenth, here the dotted notes are always too short. I know, how difficult it is to play this passage properly and I have had to practise a lot of it.) The final trill has to be overworked.Apart from these points you play the fugue quite decently. You could think about a certain creation of articulation and phrasing.

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